FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT DELTA AIR LINES - PAGE 4

Delta Air Lines, which bought the former ConocoPhillips refinery in Trainer, Delaware County, to secure a steady source of discounted jet fuel, said Wednesday the refinery lost $100,000 in 2013, but is expected to be profitable next year. Although some analysts had expressed skepticism about an airline diversifying into oil refining, a capital-intensive business with low margins, Delta president Edward Bastian told investors Wednesday: "Let me be very clear. Trainer has been a great success for Delta.

Gov. Corbett is hailing it as "an important win for the local community and the people of Pennsylvania. " C. Alan Walker, secretary of the state Department of Community and Economic Development, calls it a "win-win for everybody. " Their effusive praise was for a taxpayer-aided deal that will see Delta Air Lines buy the recently idled ConocoPhillips gasoline refinery in Trainer. In an attempt to battle rising jet-fuel costs, Delta will refine its own at the site, which will supposedly save $300 million a year.

Delta Air Lines, which bought the former ConocoPhillips refinery in Trainer, Delaware County, to secure a steady source of discounted jet fuel, said Wednesday the refinery lost $41 million in the first quarter but is expected to be profitable in the current June quarter. Delta said one major crude unit at the refinery was shut down for scheduled modifications, which decreased production. To bring Trainer to profitability in 2014, Delta is making infrastructure changes to increase refined production, and boost jet and diesel production to roughly 50 percent of the refinery's total output, Delta chief financial officer Paul Jacobson said during a conference call.

The snowstorm expected late Thursday will impact travel to, from, and through the Northeast. US Airways Group, Southwest Airlines, and Delta Air Lines issued winter weather advisories. US Airways, the dominant airline at Philadelphia International Airport, is waiving change fees for travel through Jan. 8, and will extend the time limit if necessary, said airline spokesman Todd Lehmacher. Southwest, which does not charge change fees, said it is monitoring the storm as it moves through the Midwest to the Northeast, and warned travelers that scheduled flights may be delayed, diverted, or canceled.

Delta Air Lines said Tuesday that its Trainer oil refinery in Delaware County would have a "small loss" in the current first quarter, after posting a loss of $46 million in the three months ended Dec. 31 and a $116 million loss for 2013. Delta executives said on a conference call that the 180,000-barrel-a-day refinery, operated by subsidiary Monroe Energy L.L.C., would "see a modest profit" for 2014, said chief financial officer Paul Jacobson. "We expect to see only a modest loss for the Trainer refinery in the March quarter, despite the pull-down of one of the main units for modifications," Jacobson told investors.

US Airways Group Inc. and Delta Air Lines have again asked regulators for permission to swap some takeoff and landing rights at New York's LaGuardia and Washington's Reagan National Airports. US Airways would get 42 Delta slots, which translate into round-trip flights, at Reagan; international rights to fly to Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 2015; and $66.5 million in cash. In return, Delta would get 132 slots at LaGuardia, currently used by US Airways Express flights, to increase its presence in New York, where it already has a hub at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

US Airways Group Inc. and Delta Air Lines got the green light from regulators Thursday to swap some takeoff and landing rights at New York's LaGuardia and Washington's Reagan National Airports. At Reagan, US Airways - the dominant carrier in Philadelphia - will acquire 42 Delta slots, which translate into round-trip flights, along with international rights to fly to Sao Paulo, Brazil, in 2015. Delta will also pay $66.5 million to US Airways. In return, Delta will get 132 slots at LaGuardia, currently used by US Airways Express flights, to increase its presence in New York, where it already has a hub at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Hoping a fourth try will be the charm in its effort to tie the knot with another carrier, US Airways Group Inc. is said to be analyzing a possible bid to acquire bankrupt American Airlines. Although a bid is far from certain, and likely months away, Delta Air Lines and private-equity firm TPG Capital Group also are looking at American, according to published reports. US Airways has hired Millstein & Co. to examine American, and Delta has hired the Blackstone Group, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month.

A Delta Airlines bid to buy the idled ConocoPhillips refinery in Trainer to satisfy its enormous thirst for jet fuel appears to be gaining momentum, according to industry observers. According to reports, the Delta board of directors has endorsed a plan to bid on the refinery, one of three Philadelphia fuel-processing facilities that face closure because of poor profits. Two others are owned by Sunoco Inc. of Philadelphia, which is exiting the refining business this year altogether.